May 20 is the 140th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (141st in leap years). There are 225 days remaining.
Births:
- 1768: Dolly Madison, American First Lady
- 1799: Honoré de Balzac, French novelist
- 1806: John Stuart Mill, British philosopher
- 1830: Hector Malot, French writer of Without family
- 1844: Henri Rousseau, French naive painter
- 1901: Max Euwe, Dutch world champion chess 1935-1937
- 1905: Gerrit Achterberg, Dutch poet
- 1908: Jimmy Stewart, American actor
- 1911: Annie M. G. Schmidt, Dutch children books writer
- 1915: Moshe Dayan, Israelian general
- 1933: Danny Aiello, American actor
- 1944: Joe Cocker, British singer
- 1944: Boudewijn de Groot, Dutch singer
- 1946: Cher, American singer
- 1958: Ronald Prescott Reagan, American talk show host, son to former president Ronald Reagan
- 1959: Bronson Pinchot, American actor
Deaths:
- 1277: Pope John XXI
- 1471: Henry VI King of England
- 1506: Christopher Columbus, Italian explorer
- 1622: Osman II, sultan of Turkey and emperor of the Ottoman Empire
- 1896: Clara Schumann, Austrian composer
Events:
- 1498: Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama arrives at Calcutta, India
- 1521: Battle of Pampeluna
- 1690: England passes Act of Grace, forgiving followers of James II
- 1891: first public display of Thomas Alva Edison's kinetoscope (see Film history)
- 1927: Saudi Arabia becomes independent of Great Britain (Treaty of Jedda)
- 1954: Chiang Kai-shek becomes president of Nationalist China
- 2002: East Timor independence (expected date)
See Also: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
May 19 - May 21 - April 20 - June 20 - more historical anniversaries